Some Secrets Better Told
by AliasWritings
Summary: Trying to uncover secrets about someone is a dangerous game to play and Spencer Reid learns that first hand when he find's a secret that would change his life forever. Sister fic. I've never been good with summaries so I apologize. This was just an idea that came to mind and I decided to write it. I know it's vague so I apologize again.
1. The Reid Kids

**So I did a thing. Instead of working on my other stories I started a new one. This one won't be long unless you guys want me to continue it so if you're interested just let me know.**

**Hope you guys like the first chapter and let me know if you want a second one.**

**And if you feel like it, check out my other Ciminal Mnds story, Boy Meets Girl.**

**Words: 3,439**

* * *

It was a normal day like any other. Well as normal days go for her, the young brunette girl thought as she strolled up to the law offices main doors, slightly annoyed that she had to even be here. She could've just not come she supposed, but it would be better all-around if she just shoved her annoyance down and came anyway.

It was a Tuesday and she had enough time between classes to stop by and see what the source of her annoyance wanted.

Navigating through the building, the chill air conditioning a big difference in comparison to the Nevada heat, the teenager walks through a pair of doors reading 'Wieder Kirschenbaum & Moore attorneys at law'. She'd always felt bad for the person with the second name. Could you imagine having to say that every time you introduced yourself? But that's coming from someone with a four-lettered last name.

"Charlie, honey, your fathers going to be a bit longer, somethings come up." Ms. Cahill, the receptionist tells the girl as she enters the room.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Charlie does her best to keep calm. "He knows I have classes today, I was barely able to get away." She informs the older lady as politely as she could. She knew it wasn't her fault so it wasn't fair to take her anger out on the woman.

"I know, sweetie, but this is something he couldn't help." The older women says with a glance behind Charlie towards two people the young teenager hadn't noticed before. One was a tall, dark-skinned man, the other was shorter than his friend, his age showing in the way his hair was greying around the edges.

The two colleagues shared a glance as they listened to the conversation take place. Neither of them had thought anything of it, a teenage girl coming to see her father at work, but when the receptionist gave them a pointed look, their curiosity was piqued.

"Well, I only had a few minutes and now they're up. Tell him I stopped by or don't, doesn't matter." The girl shrugs, obviously annoyed before storming out of the office building, leaving the two FBI agents behind to share another curious glance.

* * *

When her good friend asked her to dig into his estranged fathers background, Garcia was a little skeptical at first but soon found herself typing away, digging up anything she could on the man.

And she did not expect to find what she did.

"Oh," She mumbles weakly as she stares at the screen, her brain working in overdrive to process what she was looking at. Once she was able to move again, Garcia's fingers were working overtime to confirm the information she had just discovered.

"I need to get someone." She says to herself once she'd found what she needed, jumping from her seat and rushing from her office. She didn't have to go far before she ran into the exact people she was looking for.

"Where's the fire?" Her dark-haired friend asks, putting her hands up as the blonde ran up to them, a panicked look on her face.

"I found something. I don't know what I found, well I do know but I don't know what to do about it." Garcia spits out rapidly, her words jumbling together.

"Garcia, slow down. What did you find?" Her boss questions in his normal calm voice. Not knowing how to explain, Penelope turns to her office, motioning with her hands for her team members to follow. "What exactly are we looking at?" Hotch asks from where he stood behind Garcia's chair.

"Is that what I think it is?" Emily mumbles in question after a moment of looking over the tech geniuses computer.

"Oh, it's exactly what you think it is," Penelope tells her as her own eyes scanned the screen for the millionth time, still struggling to believe what was there. "That is if you think it's proof William Reid has a kid that is not our one and only Spencer Reid."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Emily hums, her eyes still on the screen.

"You're sure?" Hotch asks, his voice unaffected by the information even though his mind was trying just as hard as the other two people in the room to process it.

"Oh, I am one-hundred percent sure, sir." Penelope nods to her boss, twisting in her seat to look up at the man. "What do we do?"

Having Garcia fill him and Emily in on everything about Reid's half-sibling, he learned that they wouldn't have any effect on the case and decided they didn't need to tell him right now. He knew it probably wasn't his place to say anything, but he and the others in the room knew they couldn't keep this from Spencer forever.

"We don't say anything to Reid." He states, earning shocked looks from his team members, "Not until after." He quickly adds. "It won't help him right now. Are we all in agreement?"

"Yeah." Emily sighs and Garcia only nods while turning back to her computer.

"What about the others?" Penelope asks, thinking about JJ, Morgan, and Rossi.

Shifting on his feet, Hotch thinks about his new dilemma. He thought he should wait until after telling Reid but he didn't want to blindside them either. Once Spencer knew, Hotch had no doubt he'd want to meet his sibling who was in Vegas with him. With this in mind, Hotch turns to Garcia. "Call Morgan and Rossi."

"Yes, sir." The blonde women says, turning to her phone and pressing a button to dial Morgan's number.

"Yeah, baby girl, what do you got?" Morgans smooth voice sounded through the speaker into Penelope's office.

"Is Reid with you?" Emily asks, leaning forward in her chair slightly.

"Uh, no, just Rossi." Morgan informs them with a glance to the man standing next to him.

"Well, we definitely found something about his father."

"What's that?" Rossi's questions, his voice flowing through the speakers.

Hesitating, Emily looks to her other two team members. This was a lot of information to give someone through the phone, even if it wasn't about them. Emily suspected that was one of the reasons Hotch wanted to tell them, so they could deliver the news to Spencer in person.

"Reid has a sister." Hotch speaks up this time, seeing the hesitance in Emily's eyes.

"What?" Morgan asks after a few moments of silence, him and Rossi taking a minute to let the information sink in. "Want to run that by us again?"

"Garcia was looking into Willaim Reid and apparently he has a daughter." Emily continues, looking at the women next to her who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire conversation.

"The girl at his office." Rossi mumbles just loud enough for the phone to pick up.

"What girl?" Emily asks in confusion.

"When we went to talk to Reid's father, this teenager came in when we were waiting. The receptionist told her her father had something come up suddenly." Morgan informs them of the previous events, eyes still glued to Rossi's.

"Are you telling me you saw her?" Garcia asks, finally speaking up.

"Yeah, I think we did." Says Morgan. "Are we telling Reid?"

"Not yet." Hotch shakes his head even thought they couldn't see him. "We wait until after the case."

"Yeah." Morgan and Rossi agreed, knowing the kid already had too much on his mind. "What do we know about her?"

"Well," Garcia starts, trying to get back into professional work mode as she types away at her computer to find all the information she could. "Charlotte Reid, fifteen years old. Mother died five years ago, the same time she came into Willaim's life." She relays the information to her team, making a sympathetic noise as she did. "Poor girl."

"Garcia." Hotch says, bringing her focus back onto the task.

"Oh, right. Um, she's a smart cookie, that's for sure. She's currently enrolled in the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, she's working towards a Bachelors of Science." Penelope continues, seeing more and more of Spencer in this young girl. "And she has a drivers learner permit." She adds while bringing up a picture of the teenager.

"She even looks like him." Garcia mutters as she looks at the picture of the girl. Her light brown hair hung just above her shoulders in the picture, her hazel eyes shining as she gave the camera a small smile.

"Alright, we keep this between us until we've solved this case." Hotch says as he stands straight, having leaned forward to look at the computer over Garcia's shoulder. He couldn't deny it, the girl did look a little like Reid but a lot of her features he assumed she got from her mother.

"How are we supposed to tell him?" Morgan asks.

"I don't know." Hotch admits. "But I think it's better he hears it in person."

"Are you saying you want us to tell him?" Rossi asks with raised brows. He knew Spencer would have a lot of questions when he found out, ones only his father could answer. He'll problem want to meet his sister as well. All things that needed to be done here, not back home.

"If you're comfortable with it." Hotch tells them. Of course, he wouldn't force them to tell Reid if they didn't want to, but he'd prefer Spencer to know as soon as he could.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out, thanks Hotch." Morgan nods before ending the call as he saw Spencer approaching them from a distance.

"That's one conversation I am happy to not be apart of." Emily says as she looks at the picture of Charlotte on Garcia's screen.

Making a noise of agreement, Garcia goes back to looking for more information on Willaim Reid, trying her best to put the young girl out of her mind.

She still had a job to do.

* * *

Being absorbed in her work all day wasn't anything new to Charlie. She often found herself so focused on her studies that she forgot to eat a lot of the time.

Like today, she was so absorbed in her work that she hadn't heard her father was arrested - or asked to come to the police station as he put it - until way after the fact.

"What the hell?" Were the first words out of the teenager's mouth when she walked into her father's office.

Sighing at his daughters choice of words, William Reid decides it's not the time to scold her about it as he knew it wouldn't help and there were more pressing things he needed to talk to her about.

"We need to talk." He tells the girl, motioning towards one of the chairs across from his desk.

"I'd say so." Charlie responds as her converse clad feet carried her small frame over to one of the uncomfortable chairs that she's never liked. "I didn't know you were a criminal." She adds sarcastically once she'd taken her seat, her left leg bouncing up and down.

"I'm being serious, Charlotte." He tells her, trying his best to stay patient.

"So am I." She responds, her voice still dripping with sarcasm.

Sighing, William places his head in his hands for a moment, trying not to let his emotions get out of hand after the long day he'd had, his daughters snarky remarks were doing nothing to help. "You have a brother." He found himself saying, the words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them. Best to just rip off the band-aid, he supposed.

"What?" Charlie asks, her voice no longer sarcastic and a lot quieter, her leg no longer moving as her body went as still as a statue. "Mind repeating that?"

"I was married before, you know that." He says as he looks over at his daughter. They don't talk much about his life before he knew her, well they don't talk at all really, but Charlie was a curious child and had found out a few things. Her half-brother wasn't one of them.

"What you don't know is that I had a child in that marriage." Charlie's father continues as he watches her try to conceal the emotions playing across her face. "You have a brother." He repeats, not knowing what else to say.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Charlie questions him, finally looking up to meet his eyes with furrowed brows.

"He's here. I saw him for the first time in seventeen years today." He informs her. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see his son again, after everything that had happened when he was only a little boy. He didn't know what to think honestly.

"So he's here?" She asks, many emotions flowing through her, curiosity being high on the list of them. She had an older brother she'd never known about and he was in town. Could she meet him? Did she want too?

"Yes, but not for long. He lives in Quantico. He was just here for work."

"Quantico, Virginia?" Charlie asks as her leg starts bouncing again, earning a nod from her father. "What's his job?" She questions, wanting to learn more about him. "What his name?" She adds once she realized she didn't even know her own brother's name.

"His name is Spencer and he's an FBI agent," William tells her, sitting back in his seat as he lets out a sigh.

"An FBI agent?" Charlie repeats, still trying to absorb her information. "Can I meet him?" She found herself asking even though she wasn't sure if she wanted too yet, she just wanted to know if she could.

"He doesn't know about you." William informs, earning a scoff from the young girl. Why was she not surprised?

"Of course." She mumbles to herself more than anything. "Were you ever going to tell me?" She demands, anger rising as she stares her father down.

"I don't know." And he didn't, he'd never really given it much thought if he was honest. He thought that part of his life was over after he left Spencer and his mother. It's not that he didn't love them, he just didn't know what he was doing anymore and took the only way out he could see.

Then Charlie's mother shows up 5 years ago with a nine-year-old child, claiming she was his. He was skeptical but the timing did line up, but that didn't stop him from getting their DNA tested and confirming that Charlie was, in fact, his daughter.

Marla, Charlie's mother, had been sick. That was why she chose to come back, she'd known she wasn't long for this world and wanted to make sure her daughter was looked after. And he tried his best to look after her, but Charlie was a very independent child, doing her own thing when she wanted and not taking shit from anybody.

"So, no." Charlie translated, standing to pace when she couldn't sit still anymore. "I can't believe this." She mumbles. "But then again I suppose nothing you do should surprise me anymore."

"Charlotte, just calm down, take a seat." He sighs while rubbing his tired eyes.

"No, William, I don't want to take a seat. I don't want to be near you right now." Charlie almost shouts before grabbing her bag and rushing out of his office, not even bothering to apologize to the person she bumped into on her way.

* * *

To say Spencer was shocked to learn he had a sister would be a big understatment.

Morgan had taken on the responsibility of telling him alone after they'd solved the case of Riley Jenkins. Rossi had said they'd do it together but Morgan told the older agent that he thought it be best with just the two of them and Rossi agreed.

He didn't know how to react, he had been confused, asking Morgan to repeat himself in case he had heard him wrong and then demanding he explained once he was sure he'd heard the words correctly.

Morgan had done his best to keep the kid calm and explained all he knew before helplessly watching Reid as he stormed away. Probably to go see his father, Morgan thought as he went to find Rossi and wait for his friends return.

To see his father was indeed where Spencer was going. He took an educated guess and tried his office first, not surprised when he asked the same receptionist he'd seen earlier that day and she informed him that William was in his office.

As he turned away from the older lady, Spencer started towards his father's office, fueled by many different emotions, causing him to bump shoulders with someone else walking passed him that he'd failed to notice. He didn't pay it much attention as he continued walking until he came upon his father's opened office door. Now that he was here, Spencer realized he had no idea what to say.

"Spencer." William Reid said in surprise after he lifted his head from his hands and noticed his son standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've left by now."

"Yeah, well that was before I found out I had a sister," Spencer says, surprised with himself. He had a lot of anger for his father, all of it being thrown towards him during this case, but as he learned the truth, most of that anger had dissipated. But not all of it.

"How'd you find out?" The oldest Reid asks, looking at his son in shock.

"That's what you're worried about? How I found out?" Spencer questions with a scoff that reminded William of his daughter.

"What do you expect me to say, Spencer?" William asks his oldest child, having enough of both their attitudes to last him a lifetime.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe start explaining how I have a sister and why you didn't say anything." Spencer demands while trying his best to stay calm.

"It's complicated, Spencer."

"Seems pretty simple to me." Spencer responds, anger seeping into his words despite his best efforts to stop it.

"Have a seat." His father offers, motioning to the same chair Charlie had previously been sitting in, only earning him a head shake from his oldest child. "Her names Charlotte." He starts with a sigh, not knowing how much Spencer already knew. "I found out about her when she was nine." He continues. "Her mother brought her to me because she couldn't look after her anymore."

"Where is she now?" Spencer questions his father. He was mad at him of course but that doesn't mean he didn't want to meet his sister, he held no anger towards her like he did his father.

"I don't know." William answers truthfully. If he was honest he didn't know where she was a lot of the time, he'd tried to keep her on a short leash but it never worked. And she was mad right now, there was no telling where she'd run off to.

"You don't know?" Spencer repeats, perplexed by his father.

"I told her about you," He confesses as he rubs a hand over his aging face. "She got upset and stormed off."

"I can't believe this." Spencer mumbles as he finally sank into the chair, running a hand over his face much like his father had.

"She wants to meet you." William says after a few moments, breaking the silence between father and son. "Or at least I think, it's hard to tell with her." Pinching the bring of his nose, Spencer shakes his head. He didn't know what to say, for probably the first time in his life, Spencer didn't have words. "If you stick around, she might show up by tomorrow. You could meet her." William spoke up again, realizing Spencer didn't know what to do or say.

Thinking over what his father said, Reid nods his head after a minute. He couldn't leave without trying to meet his sister, he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until he did. He had to at least try and if that meant staying another night in Vegas, then so be it. "Alright, I'll contact you as soon as she shows up." William tells his son, watching as he gives another nod before standing and leaving his office without another word.

Walking out of his father's office, Spencer takes the time to return to his hotel to think things over, deciding he would inform Morgan and Rossi that he was staying another night in hopes of meeting his sister.

Because Spencer Reid had a sister, and he wanted nothing more than to meet her

* * *

**For the sake of this story, I'm going to say JJ hasn't gone into labor just yet like she did in the show. **

**If you guys are interested in seeing Spencer and Charlie meet, just let me know and I'll be sure to post that.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this little idea of mine.**

* * *

'-'


	2. French Fries And Awkward Meetings

**Chapter 2 is here! I'm so glad you guys are liking this story and I hope you stick around. Right now this story is rated K+ but it may change to T in later chapters if you guys are interested in more.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was difficult to right the two Reid kids meeting but I did my best.**

**I'd love to read what you guys think of this chapter and what you want to read in later chapters in the reviews!**

**Words: 4,386**

* * *

Despite the late hour, the Nevada heat could still be a bit harsh sometimes. Tonight is one of those nights.

Charlie thought she'd be used to the heat at this point but as the days went on, she still found herself annoyed by the sun as it beat down on her skin, causing her to sweat and basically soak her clothes.

She was by no means a girly girl, but Charlie couldn't think of anyone who enjoyed having their clothes stick to them with sweat and the obvious wet spots on your clothes as it soaked through the fabric. It just wasn't a good time.

And that's how the young teenager found herself begrudgingly making her way back to the modest house she shared with her father. And she needed to check on Einstien, her cat who hadn't been feeling very well lately.

Seeing William's car in the driveway only made Charlie's steps falter for a moment before she continued to the houses front door, if not a little quieter this time. She wasn't sure if her father was still awake or not but she would rather he didn't know she was back.

Carefully closing the door behind her, Charlie jumps when she feels something brush against her leg, looking down to see her long-haired, gray tabby. "You scared me, buddy." She says as she bends down to pick him up. "You feeling better?" Charlie asks the feline as she carries him into the kitchen, prepared to give him his medicine.

"Liver flavored," She reads from the medicine bottle, making a disgusted face as she looks at Einstien's eager one. "Delicious." She mumbles sarcastically as she lets the cat drink his medicine from the syringe, not having the heart to force it into his mouth as the vet had shown her. He was taking it fine like this anyway, she didn't see the point in forcing it on him if he was willing to drink it himself.

"It's late." Her father's voice says from behind her as he enters the kitchen.

"And this is a cat." Charlie states, turning to see the look on her fathers face. "Oh, are we not just saying random facts?"

"Not right now, Charlotte." William says with a tired sigh, not in the mood to put up with her sarcastic remarks right now.

"Not right now what?" Charlie questions, playing dumb as she turns her attention back to her cat as he paws her head, telling her he was done with his 'treat'.

"Not right now with your attitude problem." He tells her he takes a seat at the table.

"I don't have an attitude problem," The teenager says with a look towards her father. "You have a problem with my attitude, and that's not my problem."

Sighing, William Reid runs a hand over his face as his daughter returns her cat's medicine to the fridge. "I saw Spencer again after you left."

"Spencer," Charlie mutters while setting her cat onto the floor. "You mean the brother I had no idea I had until a few hours ago?"

"Yes," William admits with another sigh, knowing it was better so just go with it than fight with the teenager. "He knows about you."

"So you told him?" She asks, leaning her back against the counter across from her father. She knew she was being difficult with him but she just couldn't help it, he brought out the worst in her.

"No, he found out another way."

"Oh, so if he hadn't have found out, you wouldn't have told him."

"I didn't say that," William defends. "He wants to meet you." He quickly adds before his stubborn daughter could say anything else.

"I thought he left?" Charlie furrows her brow, her heart jumping. She didn't think she'd have the chance to meet him so soon.

"He decided not too, I told him I'd contact him when you showed up." Reid tells her, watching as she thinks over this information.

Charlie hadn't decided if she wanted to meet him yet, she had asked her father if she could because if she couldn't, then there was no point in worrying about it. But now he's telling her that Spencer stayed in town and wants to meet her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared at the thought of meeting him. She wasn't sure why it scared her, what did it matter? Her life wouldn't change if he didn't like her and rejected her as his sister. She had lived this long without him so far, she could continue to do it.

"I have class tomorrow." Charlie says lamely, looking for an excuse not to meet him even if she did want to somewhere deep down.

"Not all day," William informs his daughter of the information she already knew. "And I think you could miss a day." He adds, knowing it wouldn't hurt her grades one bit if she were to miss a day.

"Well, I have a project due next week and it's not nearly done." She lies. Not entirely, she reasoned, she did have a project due next week but she'd finished it already.

"You don't want to see him." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"I don't know." Charlie admits with a shrug, wrapping her arms around herself and looking down at her mixed matched socks, having removed her hightops after entering the house.

"How about you sleep on it?" William offers, watching as his daughter nod before leaving the kitchen, heading to her room.

Closing his eyes and resting his head on his hand, William Reid lets out a sigh as he feels the soft fur of his daughter's cat rubbing against his arm. He hated it when the cat got on the table or counter, but with Charlie setting him up there all the time, mostly because she knew he hated it, he suspected, the cat thought it was okay and did it quite often.

Deciding he was to tired to do anything about it, he gentally runs his hand over the cat as he stands up and makes his way to his own room. Today had been the longest day of his life and he was exhausted.

Charlie couldn't sleep.

She had taken a shower after leaving her father alone in the kitchen, thinking it would help clear her head. It didn't.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to sleep. She knew it sometimes helped people see things more clearly, but she couldn't turn her brain off enough to fall asleep and instead tossed and turned all night as her thoughts screamed at her.

This wasn't the first time it's happened, it's not even a rare occurrence at this point. Charlie often has many sleepless nights as the thoughts in her brain get the better of her and keep her awake at night, resulting in a horrible day and her already snappy attitude to be even worse.

She just hoped it wasn't like that tomorrow. If she was going to meet her brother, she wanted to at least be bearable to be around.

Because she had a brother. A half brother at least, but that didn't matter. Did she want to meet him? Or did she just want to forget about him? I mean, what's the worst that could happen, the girl thought, he rejects me and leaves? He hadn't been in her life for fifteen years, she could survive without him for the rest of it, couldn't she?

Yeah, she could, so why put herself through the stress of meeting him when she could just forget about it? But what if...

"What if what, Charlie?" The teenager asks herself out loud as she looks up at her ceiling, the glow in the dark stars she had put there at a younger age still glowing brightly.

It's funny, Charlie thinks, a cheap bag of glow in the dark stars that have been stuck to her ceiling for years have lasted and still look brand new almost. Why couldn't more important things last like that?

"Screw it." Charlie mumbles to herself, turning onto her side and away from the stars as she makes up her mind. Tomorrow she would meet her brother and no matter how it turned out, she would deal with it and she would be fine.

* * *

Charlie wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep that night, her brother having the same problem as he tossed and turned in the lumpy hotel bed.

Earlier that night after leaving his father's office he had come back here and found Morgan and Rossi, informing them that he was going to stay another night in hopes of meeting his sister.

He had told them both to go home but they had argued to stay until Reid finally agreed to Morgan staying, leaving Rossi to head home. He felt bad for keeping his friend here even longer but he refused to leave.

Lying on his back, Spencer looks up at the blank ceiling as Morgan's slow breathing reaches his ears from the bed across from him. He envied his friend for being able to fall asleep so easily as his thoughts wouldn't let him even close his eyes.

He hadn't gotten a good nights sleep since before they started their last case and it was starting to show in the growing headache he had.

He had a sister. A half-sister but that didn't matter, she was his little sister. He wasn't sure how to process that information. Spencer had been an only child his whole life and now suddenly, he had a sibling.

He wanted to meet her, definitely, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous or even a little scared. He had no idea what she was like. Morgan had mentioned she was smart but he didn't know how smart. Like him? Smarter even? What was her personality like? Would she like him? He was worried she wouldn't, that she'd think he was weird and wouldn't want anything to do with him. But he had to try, she was his sister after all.

With this though in mind, Spencer turns on his side and closes his eyes, trying his best to turn his mind off and get some sleep before the day a head of him.

* * *

Groaning, Charlie lifts her blankets over her head as the sun shines through her window, hitting her right in the face. Normaly she was an early riser but she had only fallen alseep less than two hours ago. She just wanted to stay in bed.

But knowing she couldn't, the teenager groggily sits up and looks to her alarm clock. William was undoubtedly awake already, she just hopes he hadn't left for the office yet. She had to tell him she'd made up her mind.

Untangling herself from her sheets and most definitely not falling flat on the floor, Charlie quickly rushes from her room and into the kitchen to see her father there.

"Morning." He greats her, not batting an eye at her messy bed head. It was one of the reasons she kept it short. If you thought this was bad it was basically impossible to untangle it when it was long.

"Okay, I'll do it." She tells him as he sips his coffee. Charlie decides to make her a cup to distract herself. She didn't even like coffee but she needed the caffeine.

"Do what?" William asks his daughter as his eyes scanned the paper, earning him an eye-roll that he didn't need to see to know happened.

"Don't play dumb, you know what." She tells him as she pours more sugar than coffee into her cup.

"I'll let him know. Just tell me when and where." He says while pulling out his phone. William honestly didn't know what to think of his children meeting. He was for it at first, but now just thinking about the, getting together and ganging up against him sent a chill down his spine. He quickly shook those thoughts away.

"Well, I'm not going to class today." She states as she takes a seat at the table across from her father. Se loved school but there was no way she was going today. "Lunch at Ronny's?" Charlie asks, wanting to know what her father thought about the idea.

"Sounds perfect." William nods to his youngest child, leaving her to finish her coffee as he steps out to inform Spencer of where to meet his sister and get ready for work.

"Einstien?" Charlie calls out for the cat, realizing it was time for his medicine. He had to have to twice a day for two weeks and he'd hopefully be better. "Come here, kitty kitty." Smiling, the teenager picks up the fluffy cat when he runs up to her. "Good boy." She mumbles to him as she sets him on the counter to retrieve his medicine and letting him take it before setting him by his food, deciding she should go get ready for the day.

Starting with her bird's nest on her head, Charlie stares at the contents of her closet as she forcefully pulls a brush through her hair. She's thought about shaving it on more than one occasion.

Once she was finally able to run a brush through it, Charlie grabs some shorts and a dark blue shirt with a triangle telling a circle that it was pointless printed on the front. It was gifted to her as a joke but she actually liked really liked it. Deciding to just wear her black high tops again, Charlie makes sure she had everything in her backpack and grabs her phone from her nightstand before leaving her room, heading back to the kitchen.

"Spencer will be there at noon." Her father says when she enters the room, dressed in one of his many suits. Charlie guessed that's all he owns other than his single pair of pajamas as she'd never seen him in anything else.

"Noon." She repeats under her breath, her anxiety creeping up on her. She's struggled with anxiety most of her life but it was never too bad until her mother died and she started having panic attacks. Although she hadn't had one in quite a while and was proud of herself for it.

"Yeah, I gotta head to work." William says before making a speedy exit, leaving his daughter standing in the kitchen, suddenly finding it dificult to move her feet.

* * *

"Charlie, honey, I didn't think you worked until Friday." Lucy, one of the waitresses at Ronny's says when she spots the teenager coming into the diner.

"Um, I don't. I'm not here to work." Charlie tells the older lady she sometimes shared a shift with. Charlie assumed she got her kind and caring nature from being a mother of two children, a boy and a girl that Charlie had babysat on more than one occasion when no one else could. Lucy is a single mother and can't afford to miss a shift, Charlie likes to help her out when she can.

"Okay, can I get you anything then, dear?" The blonde asks kindly from where she stands behind the counter.

"Um, a glass of water?" Charlie says, her words sounding like a question. She had stood in the kitchen for a while, unable to move her feet until she finally snapped out of it and decided to just come here and wait, she didn't have anything else to do after all.

"Sure, you got it.' Lucy nods before quickly making the teenager a cup of water.

"Thanks." Charlie says as she takes the cold cup before turning to sit at an empty table, the booth cold when it touches her bare legs.

As Charlie slowly drinks her water, she watches the window, not really paying attention to what was happening around her. She didn't notice when the clock struck noon nor did she hear the bell above the door ding, signaling the entrance of a tall man with shaggy brown hair. She didn't notice him walk to the counter and ask the blonde lady behind it if she knew a girl named Charlotte and she definitely didn't notice him approaching her, causing her to jump when she heard him speak her name.

"I-I'm sorry." Spencer stutters as Charlie places a hand over her heart and closes her eyes to try to slow her hearts erratic beating.

"Nope, that's my bad." Charlie says, holding up a hand to wave off his apology. "Must have zoned out again." The girl mumbles only loud enough for Spencer to hear.

"Charlotte?" Spencer questions again after a moment, wanting to confirm that the teenager before him was his little sister.

"Please, call me Charlie, I hate Charlotte." The young girl tells him, looking up to meet his eye. "Spencer?" Nodding his head, Spencer takes a seat across from the girl after she motioned to it, inviting him to sit down.

Taking a moment, Charlie assesses the man sitting across from her. He was tall, on the skinny side. His brown hair matching her own in color as it hung past his jaw. He was obviously nervous, just like she was which made her feel a little better.

"Well, this is awkward." Charlie states plainly after a few moments of silence. Neither sibling knew what to say.

"Little bit." Spencer says with a chuckle.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Charlie asks hesitantly, her hands playing with her own cup as her left leg bounces up and down below the table.

As if sensing the tension between the two - which wouldn't surprise Charlie if she had - Lucy comes over to the table with what Charlie called her professional smile. "Can I get you two anything?" She questions sweetly, curious as to who Charlie was sitting with as she's never seen him before.

"A glass of water?" Spener asks the older lady, nervously wringing his hands together.

"Of course." She nods once to Spencer before turning her attention to Charlie. "Anything else for you, dear?"

"Um, some fries?" She hadn't eaten anything since the chips she had for lunch the day before so she was quite hungry.

"Of course, I'll have them right out."

"Thanks, Lucy." Charlie mumbles to the older woman before she walka away to prepare their order. "So," Charlie says after a moment, unable to stand the silence any longer. "William said you were an FBI agent?"

"Uh, yeah." Spencer nods his head as he looks at the girl and if he wasn't a profiler, he wouldn't have noticed she was nervous. Her face was blank and read that she was cool as a cucumber but there were other signs Reid picked up on. How her leg was bouncing below the table, although Spencer guessed she did that quite often. She was playing with her cup in an attempt to occupy her hands and she leaned back in her seat but not in a relaxed sort of way, more like she was trying to distance herself from him.

"What do you do, exactly?" Charlie asks. She thought it was cool, that he was an FBI agent and she was curious about what it was like. Not that she'd ever admit that out loud.

"Um, I work with a team. We're called the BAU, behavior analysis unit. We profile criminals." He describes as simply as his nervous brain allows him to.

"Cool," Charlie mutters shortly as Lucy returns with Spencer's water and her fries, setting them down with nothing more than a smile before leaving the siblings alone once more. "Sorry, I skipped breakfast." She says while grabbing a fry and dipping it in ketchup before bringing it to her mouth.

"So, you're in school?" Spencer asks lamely as he watches the girl eat, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah," Charlie says around the food in her mouth. She wasn't trying to be difficult, she just didn't know what else to say. "You can have some if you want." She offers, pushing her plate towards him a bit. Deciding it couldn't hurt, Spencer reaches forward and grabs a fry. It was awkward, neither could deny that, but it wasn't anyone's fault, neither of them knew what to do or say. Especially Spencer, what was he supposed to say to his teenage sister. What do teenager's even like to talk about?

"I have no idea what to say." Spencer admits honestly.

"Oh, good, me either." Charlie says with a small laugh. She hated awkward situations and thought it was only as awkward as you made it, so if they could just get over it, it wouldn't be so bad.

Laughing a little himself, Spencer looks over at the young girl. He hadn't seen her standing but she did seem on the shorter side but she was still young, she had the potential to get taller. She had brown hair, much like his, and it was hovering right above her shoulders, her hazel eyes shining a little brighter than his own.

Taking a deep breath, Spencer decides he would try his best to get to know this girl. She was his sister, after all, he wanted to be in her life. So doing his best to push his nerves aside, Spencer starts asking her questions about what he knew, which was a lot, but that didn't seem to deter Charlie as she had an answer for every one of his questions, much to his delight.

"Okay, my turn," Charlie says a while later, all the french fries and awkwardness between them gone. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She questions with a smirk before quickly adding. "Or boyfriend?"

Laughing, Spencer shakes his head. "No, no, neither." Spencer answeres, shifting in his seat, wondering how she had folded her legs in front of her as she had a little while ago.

"Yeah, me either." Charlie adds, only half-joking. She was only fifteen but she'd never dated before, she never had any interest in it. Plus, she spends all her time around people a lot older than her, not much potential there anyway. "Do you have to go back home today?" Charlie asks, actually wishing he could stay. She hadn't been sure how today was going to go, but after they started talking, Charlie found she really liked her brother and would like to see him more often.

"I-I do." Spencer tells her, seeing the disappointment in her eyes no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"Oh, okay well, that's understandable, you have a job and stuff..." She trails off as she looks out the window, biting the inside of her cheek.

"I'll definitely come to visit." Spencer quickly says. Of course he would come visit her when he could, though he wasn't sure how much that would be as his job took most of his time from him. "And you're always welcome in Quantico."

"Yeah." Charlie nods, shifting so her legs were no longer pulled to her chest. "We'll see. When do you leave?"

"Tonight."

Nodding her head, Charlie hides her disappointment with a smile as she turns to her brother. "You still have time for a walk?" She asks him while sliding out of the booth. Nodding, Spencer joins his sister in standing from the booth and follows her outside and into the heat. It wasn't the worst heat he's ever been in, but it was something about home that he definitely didn't miss.

Seeming to choose a random direction, Charlie starts walking, leaving Spencer to catch up with her. "Where are we going?" He asks her, realizing he was right in assuming she was short. Or maybe he was just tall.

"You'll see." Was all Charlie tells him as they both make their way down the sidewalk until Charlie slows to a stop right outside of a small park where a few children were playing as their parents sat on the benches watching them.

"My mom brought me here once." Charlie whispers without taking her eyes off one little girl on the swings, her father pushing her from behind, smiles on both their faces.

"What was her name?" Spencer asks as he sees the far off look in Charlie's eyes.

"Marla." Charlie says, clearing her throat as her voice threatened to crack. "She was a good mom, did her best."

"I'm sure she did," Says Spencer, placing what he hoped was a comforting hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Come on." Charlie says after a moment, walking away from the park with a shake of her head. She wasn't sure why she took Spencer there or why she said those things about her mother, she just found herself doing it. Charlie's never had anyone to talk to about her mother. Her father's never around, being at work all the time, and the older kids in school always steered clear of her and she was never outgoing anyway so she'd never made any close friends. She figured maybe she just wanted someone to talk too.

"Well, thanks, I guess," Charlie mumbles while kicking the ground under her feet as she walks by Spencer's side, her hands holding the straps of her backpack. "For meeting with me."

"Yeah, of course." Spencer says as he looks down at the girl, hands in his pockets.

"Will we keep in touch?" She asks hopefully, turning her hazel eyes to look up at him.

"I-if you want too."

"Well, of course, I want to, you are my brother after all." Charlie chuckles, the words sounding weird coming out of her mouth. She had a brother. That information was still sinking in, she guessed.

It was still sinking in with Spencer as well, the fact that he had a little sister. He was going to be twenty-seven in less than two months, he wasn't sure how to be an older brother. "Yeah, we'll keep in touch." He agrees with the teenager as they continued their slow walk.

"Okay, good." Charlie says, a weight lifting off of her chest as a smile pulls at her lips.

Spencer could hear the relief in Charlie's voice and smiled his own smile. He had a little sister now and as clueless as he was, he was going to try his hardest to be the best big brother he could be.

* * *

**And they've met. It was a little awkward at first but they eventually got passed it and had a good time getting to know each other. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know in the reviews. **

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	3. Jet Lag and Pizza

**Sorry for the late update, I have to many active stories and to much writers block to handle. It's my own fault I guess. Oh well.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, I'm so happy everyone is enjoying this story so far! **

**Also, Spencer's car is mentioned in this chapter, it might not be the one he has in the show, I honestly don't know, but it's the one I want him to have in this story.**

**Words: 2,680**

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After that night, Spencer and Charlie keep in contact just like they had agreed too. Mostly by texting and the occasional phone call, mostly started by Charlie when she gets overly annoyed by something or has a question about school. She's smart, but not quite as smart as Spencer. The team notice as well, seeing Spencer on his phone so much is bound to draw their attention as he isn't one to use it very much. They're happy that Spencer is talking with his sister and that they're getting along, they figure she's good for him. Penelope is always telling him she wants to meet her.

Spencer, of course, tells Charlie all about his team members and about how much they all want to meet her. He's never talked to her about his job though, she's just a kid, she doesn't need to know the gory details.

He tells her about Henry, JJ's son she had right after Spencer got home and how she had asked him to be his godfather. Charlie seemed excited about Henry, telling Spencer that she loves babies and wants to come meet him some time to which Spencer agreed too.

But, life gets in the way, Spencer being too busy with cases and Charlie has school and her own job at the diner. She'd gotten the job right after turning fifteen, wanting to make her own money to do things for herself. Whether he's her father or not, she doesn't like the feeling of owing someone.

It's over Christmas break when Charlie is out of school that she's finally able to go to Quantico. Much to her displeasure, William had insisted on buying her plane ticket and wouldn't take no for an answer. In the end, Charlie had agreed and went with it, happy to get away from her everyday life for a while.

Spencer told her he'd meet her at the airport and they'd go back to his apartment and meet the team at dinner the next night. Spencer informed them all she was coming and someone said they should all have dinner so they could meet her. JJ being on maternity leave had been informed later, claiming to be excited to meet the other Reid as well as get out of the house, even if it was just for a trip to Rossi's.

After getting through all the airport hassle, Charlie makes her way to where Spencer had said he was, seeing her brother before he sees her. "Spencer!" She calls out to him, watching his head turn and his eyes scan over other people until they land on her.

"Hey, how was your flight?" He asks her once she's close enough to hear him without him having to raise his voice.

"Oh, you know," Charlie mumbles as they start walking out of the airport. "Well, maybe you don't seeing as you have a privet jet."

"True," Spencer says with a small laugh. "But I have flown commercial before. Is that everything?" He asks with a look towards her small duffle bag.

"I travel light," The teenager shrugs while following him through the cars, keeping an eye out for the older car Spencer had told her he had. "I like it," She nods when she sees the old blue Volvo. "Suits you."

"Thanks," Spencer says and unlocks the doors. The drive back to Spencer's is mostly spent in silence with Charlie busy looking out the window, watching everything fly by the car. She's only lived in two different places her entire life, she's excited to see a new place.

"Thanks for letting me come," Charlie says tp Spencer when they arrive.

"Of course," Spencer nods. "I think if I didn't Garcia would have kidnapped you. She keeps saying she's dying to meet you."

"You know, I already really like this Penelope," Charlie chuckles and Spencer unlocked his door. Spencer has told Charlie so much about Penelope that she feels like she already knows the woman.

Walking into her brother's apartment, Charlie looks around with a smile. It's a lot like she expected. Books shelves covering most of the walls in the living room with piles here and there from lack of space on the shelves, a chess table by a window, the smell of books and coffee heavy in the air.

"Um, kitchen is there," Reid starts, pointing as he speaks even though Charlie's attention isn't on him. "I'll show you to your room."

"Thanks," Charlie says with a smile, tossing her bag onto the twin bed. Her eyes scan the small room, lips still turned up into a smile. It's smaller than the one at her dad's house but she doesn't mind. The dark, hardwood floor is nearly covered by a big rug. The bed resting across from the door, a desk to the left of it. There's another door to the right that the teenager assumes is a closet. A chest of drawers directly to the left of the door. The walls are a dark maroon. It's very cozy.

"Bathrooms down the hall," Spencer says from his place in the doorway, pointing to the end of the hall. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," Charlie nods, turning her attention to Spencer, her stomach growling at the thought of food. She had forgotten breakfast that morning and hadn't thought to get anything from the airport. "Do you like pizza?" She questions her brother with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, yeah I like pizza," Spencer smiles before walking back into the living room, leaving her to follow after him.

"Sweet, I'll eat any kind," Charlie says from behind him. "Except mushroom, no mushrooms. Or olives. That's just nasty."

Spencer orders pizza, with no mushrooms or olives, and the two siblings sits together on the couch watching tv until it gets late and they both go to bed. They thought it might have been awkward, like when they first met, but it wasn't. It felt natural to them, laughing and talking about anything and everything as they try not to make a mess with their food.

They may not have known each other their whole life like most siblings, but they get along easily and they have a lot in common. They both love to read, although Charlie can't read nearly as fast as Spencer can. They're both socially awkward, Spencer a bit more than Charlie but she suspects that's because she doesn't give a damn. They'll both point out any mistakes made on whatever it is they're watching on tv.

It's natural, the two of them together, almost like they hadn't been seperated for their whole lives, but like they've known each other forever.

* * *

Charlie must have been more tired than she thought from traveling the day before. She wakes up two hours later than she normally does. Jet lag doesn't help either.

Sitting up in bed, Charlie rubs her tired eyes before standing and grabbing a change of clothes and a hairbrush. She sneaks out of her room and into the bathroom, no doubt that she looks like a troll at the moment.

"Morning," The teen grumbles in greeting when she enters the kitchen behind Spencer, dressed in her day closed, hair tamed.

"Morning, sleep well?" Spencer questions his sister while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Though she doesn't sleep well in new places, Charlie thinks she only did last night was because she was so exhausted.

"Good. I have to run into the office real quick this morning, you can-"

"Go with you?" Charlie cuts him off, her head snapping up. "Oh, come on, you expect me to miss out on the opportunity to see the inside of an FBI building?" She asks him when he gives her an unsure look. "You won't even know I'm there."

"Guess it couldn't hurt," Spencer decides, shrugging. He just needs to do a few things, he shouldn't be there very long and he isn't sure if he'll be able to say no to the excited look in Charlie's eyes.

"Yes!" She shouts and pumps her fist in the air slightly, blushing when she realizes what she'd done. "Well, uh, I'm ready whenever." She mumble's and Spencer hides his amused smile.

"We can grab something for breakfast on the way, I-I don't really have much," Spencer admits sheepishly with a glance at his kitchen. He didn't keep much, especially things that can spoil in a short time because he knows if he does, he'll never get to it before he has to throw it out.

"Okay, that's fine, I usually just go for coffee to help me wake up," Charlie says offhandedly with a one-shouldered shrug. She's never been a big breakfast nor coffee person, but she needs the caffeine.

"That's not very healthy," Spencer shakes his head and Charlie just gives him a blank look while gesturing to the coffee cup filled with coffee in his hands. "I'm an adult." He mumbles before walking out of the kitchen and into his bedroom to change for the day.

"Ready?" The oldest Reid asks when he emerges from his bedroom a few minutes later, now in his normal day clothes rather than his pajamas.

"Yup," Charlie answers, turning her attention towards her brother and together they walk out to Spencer's car. "What time is dinner tonight?" Charlie asks when they pull out onto the road.

"Six," Spencer says while making a left turn. The siblings first grab breakfast before heading to the office.

Charlie's eyes stay glued out the window, continuing to watch the scenery go by. She's enjoying her new surroundings. She likes being here, being with her brother. When they arrive at the building, the teenager climbs out of the car and follows Spencer inside. She has to walk through a medal detector and she gets a visitors pass. She'll never admit to thinking it's all super cool

Spencer then leads her to the elevator, pressing the button to his floor housing the BAU offices. It looks like a normal office building to Charlie but she still thinks it's cool. But she imagines that's because she knows it's an _FBI_ office.

"This is your desk?" Charlie asks the obvious when Spencer sits in his desk chair, earning her a nod.

"Hotch, Rossi, and JJ have offices, Morgan and Emily have desks like me," Spencer tells her but he keeps his attention what he's doing.

"Hmm," Charlie hums and wanders away from Spencer to investigate the other desks around the office. There're people there of course, just because it's Christmas time doesn't mean crime stops and everyone can just chill at home, although Charlie thinks it's more quiet than normal.

"Reid, what are you doing here?" A voice asks from behind Charlie and the young girl turns to see an older man in a suit, standing by Spencer's desk. Ignoring Spencer's response to the question, Charlie slowly walks over to the two people and stands a few feet behind them. Spencer notices her first.

"Uh, Hotch, this is, uh, my sister," Spencer introduces, stumbling over his words slightly. He's still not quiet used to saying that.

"Hey, boss dude," Charlie greets, cocking her head to the side when the tall man turns around to see the teenager standing behind him. She knows who he is from Spencer's texts.

Spencer isn't the only one who's not used to having a sister, the entire team finds it a hard fact to absorb as well, including Hotch. He had seen a picture of her before and he saw a few similarities between her and Spencer, like their hair color was the same shade of brown, their eyes almost matching, Charlie's are more hazel and Spencer's brown. But seeing her in person, he notices a few things he hadn't before. She isn't tall like Spencer but she has a skinny frame like he dies, the smile pulling at her lips matches the young geniuses. And something about the way she holds herself reminds him of Reid.

"Charlotte," Hotch greets the girl, sparing her one of his rare smiles.

"Charlie, please," She says, trying not to scrunch up her face in annoyance. "I don't like Charlotte."

"Charlie it is," Hotch nods in understanding. "It's nice to meet you, we've all heard a lot about you." Spencer often tells the team about his little sister. A smile taking over his face when he brags about her.

"Only the good things are true," Charlie jokes even though she keeps her blank.

"It's only been good things," Hotch assures her with a look back at Spencer who sits, watching them.

"Well good, likewise about all of you," Charlie gestures around the office, remembering all the things Spencer has told her about his team. After a bit more small talk, Hotch bids the siblings goodbye with a promise to see them at dinner that night.

"Could you tell I was freaking out? Because I was totally freaking out," Charlie questions in one breath, her slightly wide eyes on snapping to Spencer when his boss walks away.

"No," Spencer answers with a small chuckle and Charlie falls into an empty desk chair close to his own. "I had no idea, and I'm a profiler." He's actually impressed, if she was really freaking out as she had said, the only way he would be able to tell was the way she shifted on her feet, but he just guessed that was because of her need to always be moving.

"Okay, good," Charlie sighs in relief. She wants to make a good impression on Spencer's team when she first meets them. And freaking out is not a good first impression. "Hopefully I can do the same tonight." She mumbles to herself, suddenly feeling nervous about dinner.

Not having heard his sisters words, Spencer turns his attention back to his work and soon finishes up, gathering a few things before he and Charlie made their way back outside and to his car. They don't go straight back to Spencer's apartment, instead he shows around the places he knows well and they end up getting lunch and walking around a bit before finally heading back home.

"Okay, we have a couple of hours until we leave," Charlie says as they walk into the apartment. "That's plenty of time."

"For what?" Spencer asks his sister with furrowed brows.

"To mentally prepare," She tells him as if it's obvious, only half-joking. Turning away from her brother, Charlie goes into her temporary room to pick out her clothes before dinner. She isn't a dressy person, but she wants to look a little better than her normal attire.

She ends up picking out some slightly loose jeans with an army green drawstring sweatshirt, a little alien below her left shoulder the only marking on it. It isn't dressy for most but it is for Charlie. Casual is just so much easier. After laying her clothes out, Charlie runs her fingers through her hair, pleased that it actually looks decent, her natural waves hanging over her shoulders without any frizz.

"Alright, just give me, like, a five to ten-minute warning before we leave," Charlie says while walking into the living room to see Spencer sat on the couch. She plops down beside him with a sigh.

"Nervous?" Spencer asks his sister when he notices her chewing her bottom lip and wringing her hands together.

"No." Charlie lies.

* * *

**Charlie met Hocth and should meet the rest of the team next chapter! **

**Thanks for reading! I would love to know what you guys thought!**

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	4. First Meetings and Bruises

**Wow, it's been a while. I can't apologize enough. It's so easy to lose motivation and so hard to hold onto when I have it. The reviews you guys leave mean so much, the help a lot with that. Thanks for favoriting and following, it means so much that people enjoy my writing!**

**Thanks for reading and taking interest in this story! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**I don't care very much for the first part, Charlie meeting the team, I just couldn't break through my writers block to make it much better, I apologize.**

**Words: 4,032**

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The entire ride to dinner later that night, Charlie's leg wouldn't stop bouncing as she stared out the window.

She was nervous, of course she was. She had never been the biggest people person, being around others older than her and most people don't like her attitude. She doesn't try to act like a brat, it just happens. And when someones wrong, is she supposed to just not correct them? That didn't make any sense.

Spencer was easy to get along with, for which she was grateful for. She hasn't gotten along with someone so well since her mother. But she wasn't sure about his team. What if she didn't get along with any of them and they hated her? Then what?

"Charlie, we're here." Spencer's voice cuts through her thoughts, bringing the teen's attention to her brother before she back out the window, noticing the huge house in front of her for the first time.

"Right." Charlie mumbles to herself before clearing her throat and climbing out of the car, following behind Spencer as she tries to hide in her sweatshirt.

Once they reached the door, Spencer opened it without knocking. "Hey, guys." He greets his team members that had arrived as he enteres the house, moving to the side slightly to reveal Charlie from where she stood behind him.

Unable to find her voice, Charlie offeres a small wave as she takes a small side step, still trying to hide as everyone's eyes turned to her. She hated all the attention.

"Aww, look at you, you're even cuter in person." A blonde, colorful lady said with a huge smile and Charlie only stared, having no idea how to react.

"You're scaring the poor kid, baby girl." A dark-skinned man says to his friend before turning back to the teenager. "I'm D-"

"Derek Morgan." Charlie cuts him off, not intending to be rude as she turns around to room, guessing everyone's names from what Spencer had told her about them. "Penelope Garcia." The brightly colored blonde. "Emily Prentiss." The dark-haired woman. "JJ." The other blonde. "David Rossi." The Italian, author, and host of tonight's dinner. "Aaron Hotchner." Boss man who she'd already met.

"Sorry." The teen mumbles after a moment of silence, averting her gaze to the ground.

"Don't be." Derek smiles with a shake of his head.

"It's really nice to meet you." Emily says to the girl, staying in her place to give the teenager her space. It was obvious how nervous she was.

"We've heard a lot of good things." JJ puts in from Emily's side as both Reid siblings move further into the room.

"I can't say they're all true." Charlie offeres a small smile to them, feeling tension ease from her shoulders when the others chuckle at her joke.

Dinner moved fast, everyone gathered around a large dining table, eating and talking. Charlie noticed everything seemed very PG-13 and with their job, she guessed she was the reason for that. She felt a little annoyed but couldn't find herself to be overly angry, she was a child, she knew that, but she wasn't naive.

Everyone, unsurprisingly, spoke to her a lot, asked questions about her life. She knew they would and tried her best to be polite but one of her top three least favorite topics was herself.

"Do you have any hobbies?" Garcia asks at some point and Charlie sets her drink down before answering.

"Uh, I like to read." She supplied weakly, the knowledge surprising no one present. "And I work at this diner, mostly just weekends, gives me something to do." She liked to sing as well but no one knew that, not even William. "And I have a cat."

"Aw, what's his name?"

"Einstien." Charlie smiled at the thought of the furry animal. He'd been a gift from William, one she hated to admit she was happy about. She liked the cat, didn't mean she liked him. "Want to see a picture?" Normally the teenager wouldn't ask something like this, she didn't think anyone really cared, but she was proud of her baby.

"Yes!" Garcia readily agrees, smiling while leaning over in her chair to take Charlie's phone when she offered it, a furry, grey cat displayed on the bright screen. "So cute." Penelope gushes, turning the phone to show those sitting next to her.

"Garcia will never turn down the opportunity to see a cat picture." Derek informed Charlie with a fond smile.

"No, I will not." Penelope shakes her head, handing Charlie's phone back to her. "And I'm not ashamed of that."

The night continued in a similar manner. Everyone telling stories and asking questions. Laughing at the funny and embarrassing stuff. When it was time to leave, Charlie had forgotten why she was so worried in the first place.

* * *

Turns out, having an IQ of one-eighty-seven meant you made killer pancakes. So Charlie discovered her second morning with her brother. It surprised her a little, he didn't seem like the cooking type.

She was really enjoying her time here, it was a needed change to her mundane life. Spencer was cool, she really liked him, they had a lot in common and a lot not in common. If that makes sense. He showed her around, his favorite places to go and places he thought she'd like.

Charlie wouldn't be staying until Christmas, she had to be home for that. William would've let her stay but the teen would admit to feeling a little guilty leaving him home alone over the holiday, he was her father after all, even if she didn't like him very much.

The siblings did have their own small version of the holiday. They ate dinner and exchanged gifts. Charlie had had no idea what to get her brother and settled for an original copy of her favorite Steinbeck book. He loved it.

The flight back home wasn't exciting like the one there. But returning to the familiar comfort of her home was nice. Even if she wouldn't admit it. Einstien was happy to have her back, the cat became attached to her feet for the next few days.

Christmas wasn't so bad. William and Charlie were civil. It was a holiday and the teenager didn't want to spend it fighting with her father over nothing. So the two had dinner together, watched a movie and exchanged their gifts for one another. It was nice actually, Charlie didn't mind the calm, unhostile few days.

By the end of break, she was starting to become stir-crazy. Charlie liked to move around, she couldn't stand to sit still. She worked a few days at the diner and it helped but going back to school was what she was really looking forward to. Once that happened, everything was going well. Until it wasn't.

It's such a small thing, the teenager thinks. She shouldn't let it bother her so much. It's just them taking their own problems out on her. Just harsh words thrown her way. Nothing she couldn't handle. Charlie thought stuff like this would've ended in highschool but no, you don't just age out of being a bully, do you? Just find new victims.

She felt self-centered to think it, but she imagined jealousy was also fuel for these people's harsh behavior. It had been that way most of her life. She was much younger than them and much smarter. But that wasn't her fault and she didn't flaunt that fact. She tried her best to keep to herself. Other than the few times she stepped out to correct someone. But she stopped doing that, instead, the teenager would bite her tongue, let them figure out their mistakes themselves. She'd only meant to help.

It wasn't so bad, she would continue to tell herself. It was just a few people. Some would purposely bump into her a little too rough, causing her to drop her things or trip. Cruel words whispered just loudly enough behind her back for her to overhear, followed by snickers of delight by the people apart of the conversation. She tried, she really did try not to let the words get to her. Easier said than done.

It was a few weeks back into school when someone brought up her mother. To her face even. She didn't even know how'd they'd found out about that, it wasn't exactly advertised. And to further her horror, Charlie started crying. In front of everyone.

It only took a moment before she was running away. A moment too late, of course, everyone had already seen. Already started laughing. Charlie had always thought she was strong, especially for her age. She hadn't realized how wrong she was.

* * *

William had thought maybe things were starting to settle down between him and his daughter. Maybe their relationship was getting better. He was trying more these days and Charlie seemed to be doing the same. But then she started ignoring him. She didn't show much attitude, just locked herself in her room when he was home, either skipped meals or quickly shoved the food down her throat before retreating again.

He'd thought it was him, maybe he'd done something or she was just being a teenager. He decided to give her her space. Charlie wasn't one to talk, never had been, and he knew he was the last person she'd do that with. Especially since he assumed he was the problem.

It wasn't until he returned home from work early one day, a very rare thing to happen. That was how he caught Charlie off guard. She'd been in the kitchen, hadn't heard him enter. Her hoodie was up over her head, she was standing in front of the open freezer when he walked in.

"Charlotte?" He called out hesitantly, his voice scaring the girl. She jumped a little, keeping her back to him as she hurridly put whatever she was holding back into the freezer and closing it.

"You're early." The teenager mumbled to him, her fingers gripping the edge of the counter. She couldn't get out of the kitchen without turning to face him with where he was standing, she knew, so she stayed where she was.

"Yeah." William replied lightly, setting his briefcase onto the table. "Thought we could make dinner or order in, maybe watch a movie."

"Uh, not tonight." Charlie shrugged. She felt bad for turning down the offer, he was trying and she was starting to appreciate that but she couldn't face him right now. "Some other time, okay?" If there was a time Charlie wanted her mother most, it would be now.

"Charlotte, look at me for a second." William requested, his voice still quiet and soft but it was now filled with curiosity and worry.

Charlie only shook her head at her father. She knew it would only increase any suspicion he had, but what else was she supposed to do. "Charlotte." William repeated, more firmly this time but not unkindly.

"I'm fine." Charlie mumbles, turning to move past him with her head down. William caught her arm in a gentle grip as she passed by him, causing the girl to look up at him instinctively, but her head snapped back down once she'd realized what she'd done. "It's fine." The girl said louder this time, pulling from his hold and running to her room, ignoring his calls.

William hadn't known what to make of his daughter's suddenly odd behavior, but a black eye wasn't one of them. It was hard to see the real damage in the short time she'd looked at him, her hood blocking out a lot of the light. But he could clearly see the bruising around her left eye.

Worry shot through him first. How had she gotten hurt? Did someone do this to her? Who, where, why? So many questions he needed answers to but didn't know how to get.

He followed behind Charlie but she'd reached her room and locked her door. It was quiet inside, the eldest Reid knocked softly and called out to his daughter, waiting until she answered.

"I'm fine, please go away." William wasn't sure he'd heard the word 'please' fall past his daughter's lips in a none sarcastic way in years. It only served to further his worry and fuel his anger towards whoever hurt his daughter. He might not be winning any father of the year awards any time soon, but he wasn't about to turn a blind eye to someone hitting his child.

"Charlotte, please come out." He pleaded, leaning against the door frame. "You don't have to talk about it." He would find out what happened but that could wait, he needed to make sure she was really okay first.

"Please, please go away." The tears were evident in her voice and William grimaced, feeling his heart break at her pleas. They weren't close, far from it, he knew. He was so much out of his depth right now, he just wanted to be there for her, he just didn't know how.

Sighing, William pulls his phone from his pocket and sends a text to his oldest child. Charlie hadn't known Spencer long but the girl obviously looked up to her big brother. If anyone could get to her, it'd be him.

* * *

Curled into a ball under her covers, Charlie sniffs as she pets Einstien. The cat seemed to know she was upset, he sat snuggled to her chest, purring softly as her fingers run through his fur. She was trying her best not to cry but she was humiliated and her eye really hurt. She'd never been punched before.

And then William showed up early from work when she was trying to get some ice. She'd planned on being locked in her room by the time he got home, she'd avoid him until her eye healed, easy. But no, he had to come home early the one day she really wished he'd stay late.

She thinks he'd left now. He hadn't said anything else and she hadn't heard him move outside her door for a few minutes now. It made her feel better and so much worse at the same time.

Her phone buzzed on her nightstand. She watched it, staring as it rang, letting it go until it stopped. She didn't know who it was, didn't care, she didn't want to talk. She wanted to go to sleep and pretend the day, the last few weeks, hadn't happened.

But whoever was on the other side of the phone was persistent. It rang two more times before Charlie decided to pick it up. She was a little surprised to see Spencer's name lighting up her screen. Maybe that's why she answered.

Clearing her throat, Charlie brought the phone to rest on her ear before mumbling her greeting. "Hello?"

"Hey, Charlie, It's Spencer."

"I know." Charlie sighs, twirling Einstien's tail between her fingers. "What's up?"

"Taking a break from the case I'm on." Spencer responds casually. Too casually, Charlie noted. "What about you?"

"Did William talk to you?" The teenager cuts to the chase. It wasn't rare for her and Spencer to speak over the phone, they did it quite often, but she wasn't an idiot. The opposite actually.

"He texted me." Reid admits, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. "Want to tell me what happened."

"It's nothing." Charlie mutters as a tear falls from her eye, pooling on the side of heer nose. Her chest felt tight, her stomach was fluttering with nerves, she knew if she spoke more, she'd start crying.

"A black eye isn't nothing." Spencer tells her softly, his voice matching the one William used earlier. "Did it happen at school?"

"Mhm." Charlie hummed, knowing it was no use lying. She could just hang up, but what good would that do? "It's stupid." Her voice cracked and she squeezed her eyes shut, hugging Einstien when he moved closer to her face.

"No, it's not." Spencer sighs, wishing he didn't have to do this over the phone. He understood what it was like to get bullied much better than most people, he'd never even thought about it happening to his little sister. But it was, and that made him angry. "I get it. Being the youngest one in school. All the older kids pick on you. You feel embarrassed, like you can't talk to anyone because they won't get it. So you don't say anything and it keeps happening and it gets worse. Turns physical." Pausing for a breath, Spencer pinches the bridge of his nose before continuing. "I've seen first hand what that can do to people. It's nothing to be taken lightly. It is not your fault in any way. But you have to let someone help you. It's okay to ask for help."

"I'm sorry." Charlie cries, done with trying to hold her emotions back.

"Please don't be sorry, you have nothing to apologize for. This is not your fault."

"I just thought-" A hiccup cuts the teenager off and she places a hand over her mouth, trying to take a breath before continuing. "They were just saying things at first, I thought I could handle it. That they'd lose interest."

"But they didn't." Spencer fills in the rest when Charlie stopped talking for a moment and the girl nodded even though he couldn't see her. "What happened today?"

"This girl, she's a freshman. I don't know what I did." Charlie continued to cry, hot tears streaming down her face as she sits up against her headboard, hoping it would make breathing a little easier. "She just..."

"You didn't do anything. People can just be-"

"Shitty?" Charlie cuts her brother off, her voice stronger than it has been the entire conversation, pulling a surprised snort from him.

"Yeah, shitty." Spencer nods in agreement, releasing a deep breath he'd been holding. "I'm so sorry, Charlie. I promise I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure nothing like this happens again."

"I should be able to deal with it."

"You're fifteen." Spencer remindes her as if she didn't know. "Your fifteen years old surrounded but people much older than you. This never should have happened in the first place no matter what and you definitely should not have to deal with it."

"I guess." Charlie mumbles, looking down to see Einstien's yellow eyes staring up at her.

"Well, I know. And I'm smart, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Charlie smiles a little, biting the inside of her cheek. "I wish you were here." Charlie mutters and Spencer smiles to himself.

"I'll visit the next chance I get, promise." He didn't know when that would be, never did with his job, but he hoped it was soon. "William's there and he's worried. Despite my problems with him, it's obvious he cares about you."

"Yeah." Charlie whispers. "He's been trying lately. To be here."

"He has faults, many, I'm not denying that." Spencer continues. He hasn't forgiven his father but he knew he cared for Charlie, cared for him. It was hard to accept, after everything. "He screwed up with me. And I'm not saying he'll never make mistakes but he wants to be there for you. But you have to let him."

"Do you forgive him? For what he did."

Taking a deep breath, Spencer hesitates before answering. He can't lie to her, he knows, didn't mean he wanted to tell the truth either. "No. But I think I will, one day."

"I'm not saying he deserves your forgiveness, but I know it'd mean a lot to him." Charlie informs him, sniffing and wiping her damp cheeks. "And you deserve to move past it."

"Thanks, sis." The smile was clear in Spencer's voice and Charlie felt one pulling at her lips as well.

"My eye really hurts, so I'm gonna go get some ice."

"Okay." Spencer nods. "Call me if you need anything at any time, yeah?"

"Yeah." Charlie agrees, feeling a weight lift from her chest. "Thanks, big brother."

After saying their goodbyes, Charlie goes to her mirror, trying to make it look like she hadn't been crying before leaving the room. Her eyes were still red but it wasn't so bad. William was sitting in the kitchen, phone clutched in his hand. He wasn't doing anything, just sitting there, staring blankly at the wall. Charlie had to clear her throat to get his attention.

"Hey." She mumbles when his head turns to her.

"Hey." William respondes softly, standing from his seat and going to the freezer while motioning her to follow him. "You okay?" He knew it was a stupid question but it escaped his mouth before he could stop it.

Charlie only shugs, jumping onto the counter when William motioned for her too while he grabs a bag of frozen peas. Neither one of them knew exactly what to do in the situation, they didn't have a close relationship by any means, but when William pushed a lock of Charlie's hair behind her ear, giving him a clear view of the bruising around her eye, she didn't stop him. She even leaned into his touch slightly when he placed a hand on her cheek, holding her head still as he gently placed the frozen item onto her injury.

Charlie closes her eyes, a single tear falling onto her cheek but it was wiped away. Affection was something Charlie always thought she didn't need, but now she realized she was wrong and all she wanted to do was cry.

"You want to tell me the name of the person who did this?" William asks after a moment, voice soft, thankfully not mentioning the second tear that fell from her eye, he only silently wiped it away.

"Not really." Charlie mumbles, her eyes still closed. She had no intention of telling him, but Spencer's words ran through her mind and the teenager sighs. "Casey Bennit."

"I know I'm not the best...at this." William starts, biting the inside of his lip before continuing. "But I love you, you know, you're my daughter. And I know it hasn't seemed like it lately, but I'm here for you."

"I haven't exactly made it easy." Charlie gives a broken chuckle in a lame attempt to hid the way her voice cracked. "The whole parent-child thing is double-sided."

"You've been through a lot and I haven't been doing all that I could." He sucked at this, he knows it. Has known it for many years. He thought at one point that he shouldn't even try, he was never going to be a good father but he sees how stupid that is now. He failed his son but he has the chance to be a good father for his daughter. He has a second chance, one he wasn't willing to give up so easily.

"I can't argue that." Charlie raises a brow, opening her uninjured eye to look at him. "But I've been kind of a bitch too, so."

"Sorry, I'll work on that too." The teenager adds when William makes a face at her choice of language.

"I won't be perfect, because I honestly have no idea what I'm doing, but I promise to try."

"Yeah, me too." Charlie whispers, knowing if she spoke any louder that her voice would break. "Still wanna do dinner?"

"Yeah." William chuckles, smiling when his daughter did the same. "We'll get whatever you want. Watch that movie you love."

"You love it too and you know it."

"It's growing on me." William admits while tucking more hair behind her ear.

"Thanks," Charlie mumbles, hesitating a moment before adding. "Dad."

William didn't try to hide how that made his smile grow. How it made him feel. Charlie had only called him dad a handful of times in the five years he'd known her. She only called him William and as much as he disliked it, he didn't argue with her over it. He didn't think he's earned that title anyway. But he'd work on it. He'd do his best to be there for her, protect her. Do whatever it took. Like getting Casey Bennit expelled with one simple phone call.

* * *

**Bullying sucks and it's a real problem. No one should have to go throught that. And like Spencer said, it's okay to ask for help.**

**William's trying to be a good dad, he just had no idea what he's doing. Sometimes people just aren't cut out for some things.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think. **

* * *

**'-'**


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